How to Survive Thanksgiving When You Can't Stand Your Family

Every year, right
around the early part of November, radio hosts ask listeners to call in with
their worst Thanksgiving family stories. And boy are there some doozies. The
most surprising thing for me is that most of the callers report that they still
host or go to the family holiday year after year.

Why are you even
subjecting yourself to this?Family or
not, if the holiday get together makes you miserable, something has got to
change.

This year, try one of
the following tips to make your feast a little more festive:

Redefine the idea of
“family”:

Consider hosting your
own turkey day dinner, inviting the friends that you call family.

Seattle-based author
Evan J. Peterson says,

“For me, Thanksgiving is about family. I have a
great relationship with my family, but many of my friends don't. I can't often
get to the opposite coast to see my folks that weekend, so I like to host an
'orphan' Thanksgiving for my local chosen family. I also know people who take
that day or weekend to volunteer and fundraiser for local American Indian tribes
and the homeless."

Avoid
the subject of politics:

Political
discussions during holiday gatherings can be about as much fun as banging your
head against a wall. Stick to light-hearted subjects, and use the time to catch
up on everyone’s life. If you have the type of relatives that have difficulty
with this, try setting out lots of old photo albums. Chances are they’ll get
picked up and looked at, and gear the conversations towards fond family
memories.

Set
a time limit:

If
you’ve got a family that squabbles no matter what, (and you still plan to power
through the holiday) consider sending a dinner invite with a set time range,
say 3-6pm. This allows for enough time to eat, visit a bit, and still relieves
everyone from making excuses to leave early.

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About Author

Dani has been a makeup artist and stylist for over 22 years. She currently juggles makeup artistry, a new career in Physical Therapy, parenting and keeping her sanity. She takes pride in spreading humor and kindness into people's lives, and is a self-proclaimed expert on being a single mom.

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